Have you ever noticed how good restaurant wait staff do their jobs quietly, unobtrusively and with a minimum of noise and fuss? By contrast, bad wait staff make noise, ask silly questions and generally disrupt the dining experience.
That also applies to dental assistants.
A practice I visit has two extremely experienced DAs. One does her job in the first way. One does her job in the second way.
For example when I’m consulting with a patient and discussing treatment options the first DA is quiet. The second DA rips open bags, clatters instruments, types on the keyboard like a jack hammer and opens and closes drawers.
When I’m doing a filling the first DA places the suction and moves it only as needed. The second DA is constantly moving, suctioning here and suctioning there. It feels like a sword fight.
When I’m doing a procedure the first DA has everything ready. The second DA repeatedly leaves the surgery to find missing instruments and materials.
The first DA almost never asks me questions. The second DA constantly asks questions many of which she already knows the answer to. It’s like she’s using questions to create conversation.
The net result is that after working with the first DA for a few hours I’m fresh and relaxed. After a few hours with the second DA I’m tired and irritable. It’s important that DAs know what to do. It’s also vitally important that they know how to do it.
If you’re to be at maximum effectiveness, day in day out, your DAs need to carry out their duties in a serene, unobtrusive manner. If you have the second type of DA it’d be good to have a staff training session.
